May 16, 2012
The Garden Rose has been voted the nation’s favourite flower following a survey we carried out with over 3,000 of you rating this bloom top of your list. The rose even topped the list for men, with over 40% rating this popular garden favourite as opposed to 29% of women.
To celebrate the start of the summer gardening season, we asked over 3,000 of you across the UK to identify your favourite flower. The beloved garden rose came out as the firm favourite with 35% voting for the popular bloom, this was followed by daffodils and lilies at 16% and the Snowdrop at 10%. It seems as a nation we still have a dislike for the Chrysanthemum, which received only 6% of the votes.
The popular lily was the second choice for women gardeners, while the vibrant spring blooms of daffodils came out second for men. There are unlikely to be many chrysanthemum’s across gardens this year as both agreed this flower was their least favourite.
We asked what leading gardening writer and broadcaster Matt Biggs thought of the results, “With their classic style and timeless beauty, it is no surprise that roses continue to capture our hearts. Despite its traditional appeal, this quintessential English garden flower is currently proving its worth in contemporary designs and is certain to remain our favourite for many years to come.”
Gardens have been filled with roses for centuries and continue to remain popular with gardeners across the UK for their fresh fragrance and beautiful flower.
Rosa 'William Lobb' (c) Cardoc Doy
For many keen gardeners the rose provides the perfect bloom for a variety of areas. “Climber’s, rambler’s, groundcover or hedging – there is a fabulous rose for every site. One of my favourites, Rosa ‘William Lobb’, reminds me of a great plant collector, who brought us the ‘Giant Redwood’ and ‘Monkey Puzzle’ his introductions are regularly celebrated by ‘Plant Heritage’”, continued Matt.
For many of you getting ready for the summer – having a variety of garden plants and flowers is a must. Matt provides a run-down of the nation’s voted blooms.
Lilies: Wonderful in the woodlands, naturalised, or in borders, lilies also create wonderful displays in pots, as ‘gap fillers’ between the seasons, add white flowered lilies like ‘Casa Blanca’ and ‘Lilium Longiflorum’, the flowers of romance and it is easy to understand their wide appeal.
Daffodils: From robust varieties like ‘King Alfred’ to smaller species like Narcissus bulbocodium for naturalising in damp places, there’s a host of golden daffodils to choose from and other colours too. It is easy to understand why Wordsworth was inspired; daffodils bring elegance and colour, at a time of year when gardeners’ need it most.
Snowdrop: Delicate, dainty and demure, the snowdrop, has long been a favourite winter flower. My must have cultivar, ‘S Arnott’, with large flowers and grey -green foliage and a honey fragrance, is robust yet beautiful and worthy of a place in any garden.
Chrysanthemum: this grand old stalwart still has its devotee’s among allotments and among gardeners looking for late summer colour. Those who treat them with disdain have obviously never seen old border varieties like ‘Chelsea Physic Garden’ or Korean Chrysanthemums, gorgeous hardy plants which deserve to be more widely grown.
Gerbera: When Gerbera is mentioned, vivid colours like bright orange and yellow spring to mind! This vibrant plant now has hardy relative’s Gerbera ‘Forever Daisies’ so you can bring their energising colours to the flower border, too.
We would love you to tell us what will be blooming in your garden this summer. Go to our Facebook page and tell us what favourite flower you will be showcasing this summer.
Photo courtesy of (c) Caradoc Doy.
May 11, 2012
It is just shy of a fortnight to the start of RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012, and my thoughts are turning to the new plants that will have their first showing to the public either on gardens or in the Grand Pavilion. There are so many: shrubs, herbaceous plants, annuals, such as sweet peas, succulents and climbing plants.
Roses, as Hozelock’s recent survey showed, are the nation’s favourite flower, so no prizes for guessing that they will have a good showing. Two of the country’s major rose breeders, David Austin (www.davidaustinroses.com) and Peter Beales (www.classicroses.co.uk/) will be bringing their usual high standard of plants, showing flower colour, growth habit and exuding fragrance to the showplace exhibits.
If you are after roses to celebrate the high spirits of the Queen’s Jubilee, then both companies have the rose for you. David Austin’s Rosa ‘Royal Jubilee’ is a shrub rose, that produces rounded, globe-shaped deep pink blooms in large clusters. When they are open, their golden stamens show well. When fully open, the golden stamens in the centre of the flower make a showy display. The fragrance is fruity, like blackcurrant tea. This rose has almost thornless, arching stems and grows to a height and spread of 4ft.
 |
|
| Photo: David Austin’s Rosa ‘Royal Jubilee’ is a shrub rose with a blackcurrant, fruity fragrance. |
Photo: David Austin |
From Peter Beales you can celebrate with Rosa The Queen’s Jubilee Rose’, a shrub rose with fully double goblet-shaped white blooms, flushed with a blush of peach. It is also fragrant and has attractive dark green foliage.
 |
|
| Photo: Rosa The Queen’s Jubilee Rose has goblet-shaped flower in white with a blush of peach. |
Credit Peter Beales Roses |
As I am still ‘upwardly mobile’ in my garden planting clematis and other climbing plants wherever I can, I will be making a bee-line to two clematis specialists.
The first is Raymond Evison (www.raymondevisonclematis.com), where I will be looking at several of his introductions including Clematis Countess of Wessex, named after HRH The Countess of Wessex. One of its big advantages is that it grows well in a shady place, especially on a north-facing wall, and it suits container growing. Its large (5-7in) flowers have six creamy pink sepals with a deeper-pink central bar at the base and frilly edges; the deep red central boss of anthers provides a striking contrast. It has a compact habit, growing to a height of 3-5ft and is free flowering from June to September.
 |
|
| Photo: Clematis Countess of Wessex grows well in a small garden with limited space, in containers, and also grows well on a north-facing wall. |
Photo: Raymond Evison |
The other clematis specialist I look out for is Thorncroft Nurseries (www.thorncroftclematis.co.uk), based in Norfolk. The clematis that Thorncroft is introducing at Chelsea is Clematis ‘Shikoo’. It has sumptuous-looking purple-blue double flowers, a slightly paler bar and multiple layers of tepals. It is early-flowering (May-June) with a second flush from August to September. Thorncroft report that it was bred in Japan as a sport of ‘The President’, it does not seem to suffer from wilting or dying off and is ideal for containers as well as the garden, growing to a height of 6-8 feet and requiring only light pruning.
Herbaceous plants are always high on my list and one of the best displays will be at Hardy’s Cottage Garden Plants (www.hardys-plants.co.uk). Rosie and Rob Hardy are award-winning Chelsea regulars. Last year one of their plants, Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ was awarded the RHS Plant of the Year Award.
 |
|
| Photo: Anemone ‘Wild Swan’ won the RHS Plant of the Year Award at Chelsea in 2011. |
Credit: Barbara Segall |
They are introducing two plants that I shall keep an eye out for. One, an osteospermum is a plant whose forebears are from South Africa, so I know it is drought-tolerant, and therefore ideal for summer planting in the garden and in containers. This one, Osteospermum ‘In the Pink’, bred by Fairweather’s Nursery and distributed by Mr Fothergill’s, is hardy down to -10oC. It produces single, lilac-pink blooms in June and continues to flower for much of the summer, but you do need to dead-head the spent flowers regularly to keep it blooming. It grows well in full sun or light shade.
Their other newcomer is Leucanthemum ‘Freak!’ bred by Har Stemkens of Syngenta in Holland. Its daisy flowers are pure white with yellow centre. It is a versatile hardy perennial that combines well with other plants and its great advantage is that it blooms from late April through to early autumn. It makes a great cut flower too.
 |
 |
Photo: Osteospermum ‘In the Pink’ is an eye-catching introduction for the summer border. A donation of 20 pence from every plant sold will go to Breast Cancer Care, a charity.
Credit: Hardy’s Cottage Plants |
Photo: Leucanthemum ‘Freak!’ flowers over a long period from late April through to early autumn. Credit: Hardy’s Cottage Plants |
These are just a few of the plants that I shall be looking at more closely at the show in a few weeks’ time.
Text and images, except where credited otherwise, copyright Barbara Segall 2012.
.
May 8, 2012
The rainbow flower is the common name given to iris flowers. They are such wonderfully showy flowers with strong, lance-shaped foliage that looks amazing when back-lit by sunlight. The leaves shoot up from the knobbly root structure called a rhizome, and they are paper flat and curved, almost like large teacher’s blue pen ticks.
I love watching the buds unfurl. There is so much flower packed into such a small space and as they open fully and reveal the wonderful colours, you can understand why they are called rainbow flowers.
 |
 |
| Photo: Irises produce flowers on tall flowering stems. |
Photo: A roadside clump of iris in Italy. They thrive in warm sunny sites. |
At Chelsea there are usually two iris stands that I make a bee-line for. The first is the UK iris and perennial specialist, Claire Austin. This year, though, Claire will not be at Chelsea; instead she will be on a field trip in the US researching the best, new irises that she will plan to bring to UK gardens. Claire’s nursery, Claire Austin Hardy Plants (www.claireaustin-hardyplants.co.uk/), is now established at its new site in Sarn, Mid-Wales. Claire has introduced 13 irises into her 2012 catalogue and one new peony, called ‘Cutie’. It’s good for smaller gardens and produces cream flowers in early June.
Of the 13 new irises I would choose the very dark-flowered Iris ‘Here Comes The Night’. Its shiny black flowers have beards that change in colour from yellow through to violet and white.
 |
|
| Photo: One of Claire Austin’s new irises, ‘Here Comes The Night’ would be high on my list, for its dark colour. Credit: Claire Austin |
|
If, like me, you will miss Claire at Chelsea, you have the opportunity to attend her Bearded Iris Open Day at the new nursery on 2 June, or you can attend her lecture to the British Iris Society on the occasion of its 90th anniversary at RHS Garden Wisley on 3 June.
The other iris exhibitor is the French bearded iris nursery, Cayeux Iris (www.iris-cayeux.com) that is returning to Chelsea after being absent last year. The family nursery celebrates its 120th year in 2012 and the exhibit will display its irises in five circles of colour, showing the range and combination of colours found in irises. Several of Richard Cayeux’s new hybrids for 2011 and 2012, not yet exhibited in Britain, will also be on display.
I would probably fall for is ‘Macaron’, a hybrid cultivar descendant of ‘Toile de Jouy’, with bright yellow standards, the falls a paler yellow with a small light brown border. It has a good branching habit, producing 12 buds on average, ensuring a long flowering period and grows to a height of 90cm.
 |
 |
| Photo: ‘Ravissant’ is one of Richard Cayeux’s award-winning irises. Credit: Cayeux |
Photo: Iris ‘Macaron’ flowers over a long period and is one I would love to try. |
Bearded irises do well in full sun in well-drained, but fertile soil. They do well if the rhizome can really bake in warm soil. When the flowers are spent I snap off the flowerhead, and later on remove the whole flowering stem down to the base. In autumn I cut back any dead or damaged foliage and if I am re-planting an iris clump, then I cut the foliage to a tapering fan shape.
British Iris Society judge and garden designer Clare Kneen has a good website for online purchase of bearded and non-bearded irises (www.irisesonline.co.uk ). It will be hard to resist the new irises on offer this year.
Images and text, except where noted, copyright Barbara Segall 2012
May 4, 2012
There is a rose for every garden situation and a rose that will be your favourite too. I love having roses in the garden, and I enjoy having them in the vase as cut flowers. Roses are the most-loved garden flowers, loved for their range of wonderful flower colours; in many cases, for their scent, and often because they have good foliage, that lasts well on the plant. You can grow roses in all sorts of garden situations – in containers, in the border as shrubs, as climbers, as standards and as ground cover.
My love for roses began several decades ago when I first saw some of the old-fashioned roses produced by Peter Beales in Norfolk (www.classicroses.co.uk).
I learned then about groups of roses with wonderfully exotic names: Gallicas, Damasks, Albas, Moss roses and the repeat-flowering Portlands, Bourbons and China roses. The roses are as lovely as the names of the groups they belong too. Among my favourites is the variegated rose, Rosa Mundi (Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’. It is a Gallica rose and is a sport of the red-flowered Rosa gallica ‘Officinalis’, which is known as ‘the Apothecary’s Rose and also as the ‘Red Rose of Lancaster’. Both are old roses with a long history, dating from 1600 and 1400 respectively; they are free-flowering and wonderfully scented. I love the swirling raspberry-ripple effect of the flowers of Rosa Mundi. However, I think it may be too vigorous for the new circumstances in the small garden – it grows to a height of 4ft and a spread of 3ft.
 |
 |
| Photo: A jug full of the flowers of fragrant old roses, picked from the first roses I planted. |
Photo: Rosa Mundi or Rosa gallica ‘Versicolor’ offers fragrance and vibrant flowers over a long period in summer. |
Currently I have several roses in the garden that will romp away and cover walls, but for the moment R. ‘City of York’, a repeat-flowering, rambler rose with a white-cream flower, is recovering from a prolonged stay in a container. But once it gets going on the back wall of the garden I expect it to grow to a height of 14ft and a spread of 10ft.
Another of my favourite roses is Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’, which has been in our gardens since its introduction in the 1800s. It is one of the plants destined for my new metal pole and wire system that is springing up in various parts of the garden. The aim of the supports is just that, to be supports so that I can grow climbing plants including roses and clematis, that will provide a floral and foliage screen, breaking the garden down into smaller areas. The Banksian rose is early-flowering, producing abundant clusters of small, but semi-double, yellow roses. It is lightly fragrant and thornless, another bonus.
If I had the space I would choose ‘Rambling Rector’ to clamber into an old apple tree or a field hedge. This Multiflora rose has a wonderful perfume and its mass of small creamy white flowers is followed by small colourful hips in autumn, but it does live up to its name and rambles…
 |
 |
| Photo: Rosa banksiae ‘Lutea’ will soon be in flower, producing a mass of small creamy yellow flowers that will last until mid-June. |
Photo: ‘Rambling Rector’ is a vigorous rose that will spread against walls, through trees and over pergolas, reaching at least 20ft. |
Also in the garden are several of the English roses from David Austin (www.davidaustinroses.com). These are new roses bred and introduced by David Austin, which he describes as ‘new roses in the old tradition’. There are so many to choose from in the David Austin catalogue, but one of my choices is ‘Graham Thomas’, which has beautifully cupped yellow flowers and a delicious fragrance.
Roses are among the loveliest plants in a garden, so give them a good start. Make sure that bare-roots plants don’t dry out by soak the roots before you plant them. Keep container-grown plants well watered and soak them before you plant them. Dig a hole to at least a depth of 50cm. You can add compost or well-rotted manure to the soil. Nowadays there are several products containing mycorrhizal fungi that boost the roots and encourages them to form a secondary root system. Apply this to the roots or the root-ball of container-grown plants. Place the plant in the hole and spread its roots out, then fill the hole with soil. Water the plant well and don’t let it dry out during the first year it is establishing. Mulch the soil surface with compost to prevent water loss.
Then wait for the burst of colour and fragrance as the roses establish.
Images and text Barbara Segall copyright 2012
May 3, 2012
With the summer season nearly on the doorstep and the garden really coming alive, we have put together some handy hints and tips for keen Bank Holiday gardeners who want to get ready for the summer months ahead.
May Bank holiday traditionally symbolises the beginning of the summer period, which brings to life an array of vibrant colours as plants and flowers start to showcase their blooms and the garden boasts it’s very best displays. This is a good time for you to start enjoying the rewards of all the hard work and preparation that you have been carrying out throughout the year as the garden takes centre stage – while making sure that garden maintenance is still a priority.
The warmer months and current drought warnings across parts of the UK, and also heavy rainfall that has caused flooding in some parts of the country mean that gardeners should be taking extra care to keep their gardens and plants healthy. The following tips will help you make the most of the Bank Holiday and get your garden ready for a show stopping summer.
Hozelock Bank Holiday Gardening Hints & Tips
- Start preparing hanging baskets, which will add a riot of colour throughout the summer and often into the autumn. Before planting, mix some Hozelock Water Storing Gel (a Waterwise Marque of approval winner) into the soil – it will help to reduce the amount of water required by up to 90%.
- As the weather warms up Aphids can be a problem on roses and other plants. Use an anti-aphid spray in a Hozelock Pressure Sprayer to protect your prize roses and blooms.
- During summer holiday months your plants may need some attention while you are away. This is a good time to invest in an automatic watering kit, the Hozelock Holiday Watering Kit includes easy to use Aquapods to distribute water to your plants (winner of the Waterwise Marque of approval), which can use up to 90% less water than a standard hose and gun.
- Cut grass weekly, long grass takes more nutrients out of the soil and is also harder to cut and may leave yellow patches in the lawn. Use water from a water butt with a Hozelock Water Butt Pump to drive an irrigation system to keep lawns hydrated.
- Say goodbye to tangled hoses with the Hozelock Auto Reel wall mounted hose. The Auto Reel automatically rewinds the hose with no kinks, tangles or effort and perfect for watering plants in gardens of any size with its 10m, 20m, 30m or 40m version – remember only for use in non-drought areas that do not have water restrictions. To find out whether you are in water restriction area go to www.hozelock.com/water-restrictions
- Water plants in the morning to reduce evaporation and conserve water, use spray guns with a trigger nozzle such as Hozelock Multi-Spray Gun Plus on your hosepipe, which can halve the water used and direct the water flow to the roots of your plants.
- Keep ponds well maintained and clear throughout the summer by using a Hozelock Pond Vac for cleaning and removing waste from ponds with minimum effort, which saves up to 30% in cleaning time and has up to 50% greater suction compared with other pond vacuums.
If you are in a region that is currently experiencing drought you can get more information on the current water restrictions, and also tips and advice by going to www.hozelock.com/wise-watering.html
Enjoy getting ready for the official start to the summer and make the most of the May Bank holiday to get ahead.
May 1, 2012
Well, getting out in the garden is hard currently, as it seems to have rained solidly since the hose ban was imposed. Trees, shrubs and perennials are growing well, but my beautiful tulips are taking a bit of a battering from rain and wind. I cannot resist showing you how lovely my own private tulip festival is. And dead-heading tulip and other bulbs is one of the ‘things to do’ in May. Deadheading diverts vigour and nutrients away from the seed, back into the bulb for next year.
 |
 |
| Photo: I cannot resist showing you how lovely my tulips are despite the hammering they are having from the rain. |
Photo: This is the first of the tulips that needs deadheading. |
 |
|
| Photo: Once the petals have fallen I nip off the tops |
|
Weeds and pests are on my mind this month. The steady rain suits them too, but fortunately soil conditions make it easy to hand-weed or hoe them out. As soon as it is dry enough to get out and work in the garden, my first task will be weeding. Pest watch will include lily beetles. I haven’t seen any since that burst of fine weather in March, and my lilies are looking strong and healthy, so I will be vigilant.
Spring flowers such as primroses are ready for lifting and dividing. This garden has some lovely clumps and I am going to spread them around. The house is painted almost the same colour, so some of the newly divided plants are destined for the little strip of ground near the front gate. It is time to cut back the trailing stems of early flowering plants including aubrieta and alyssum. They will soon send out new growth. Once you have divided or cut back, feed the plants and mulch to reduce weed growth and also to aid water retention, during drought periods.
 |
 |
| Photo: Congested clumps of primroses are soon to be divided and new plants transplanted to other parts of the garden. |
Photo: Harden off seedlings by taking them out of the greenhouse or propagator during the day, but until danger of night frost is over, bring them back into cover at night. |
I will also be hardening off the pepper seedlings, as well as the young bedding plants that I have been cosseting indoors. While there are still frosts at night I will bring them into shelter at the end of the day. Eventually, though they will stay outdoors and be planted into the borders or, in the case of the peppers and tomatoes, into containers or grow bags.
I am growing potatoes in plastic potato bags, as well as in a small piece of ground. Those in bags are racing away, as they are in my makeshift plastic greenhouse. Their foliage needs to be covered as it grows, and the bags are gradually filled with soil or compost. Once there is no danger of frost at night these bags will come out of the greenhouse and sited in a sunny position, where I can easily hand water them, while the hosepipe ban continues. The spuds in the ground are just starting to show, so they will also need to be earthed up, and their foliage covered.
I am going to be sowing runner and climbing French beans towards the end of the month, as well as squash, beetroot and ongoing salads and Oriental leaves. It is all go, as everything is growing so well.
Images and text copyright Barbara Segall 2012
April 27, 2012
April showers! Well there has been more than just a shower where I live. It has been raining daily, ever since the hosepipe ban was announced and guess what, waterbutts are sold out in many places. Like many others I rushed out to purchase another one (I have two installed on two sheds) to take the run-off from one of the gutters and yesterday it, after it was ready to receive water, it was half-filled by the deluge that followed. It is a 220 litre, wood-effect angled and rather tall waterbutt. It fits neatly against the wall and is not as obtrusive as the more usual round green waterbutts.
Photo: Side-by-side – when we can water using a hosepipe again, my trusty auto-reel is waiting patiently. Meanwhile, the new waterbutt is almost half-full and am I pleased that I can take advantage of the deluges.
In March and April flowering cherries have been a picture in parks and in gardens, but the blossoms have gone over and now the rain and wind is blowing them like snow to the ground.
Photo: A group of three flowering cherries on a roadside planting near where I live has given pleasure for several weeks. Now the rain is dashing the spent blossom to the ground.
But the apple blossom is still to come. The red blossom of the two Redlove apples is very distinctive and the two trees, now in their second year, are growing well. The new apple tree in my garden is also doing well. I planted ‘Scrumptious’ early in the year and it is bursting with blossom in its first spring. This cross between ‘Discovery’ and ‘Golden Delicious’ is very special for many reasons. First, in 2010 it was the first apple tree in a decade to be awarded an RHS Award of Merit. Also it is a self-fertile apple, so if it is the only apple you have space for, it will not need a partner for pollination. But if you do have another apple, then it will probably produce an even bigger harvest for you. When it is fully grown it will be 2.5 metres in height and by then my garden will probably be quite different.
In addition, the flowers are fairly frost-resistant, so in a cold snap, they are less susceptible to frost than other apples. It is also disease-resistant. It is an early season apple that you can pick and eat straight from the tree when ripe in August through to September. It is thin-skinned, sweet and crisp and juicy… what more can I want?
 |
 |
| Photo: The flowers of my new apple ‘Scrumptious’ are bursting into bloom. |
Photo: In March the young plum ‘Victoria’ made a gentle contribution to the ornamental look of the garden. |
Some years I grow plants from seed or buy young plants to fill hanging baskets and containers. Busy Lizzie is normally a good standby, but this year is in short supply, since last year the common Busy Lizzie (Impatiens walleriana) succumbed to an airborne fungus, for which there is currently no treatment. The advice given last year when this strain of downy mildew was found on plants around the country, was to dispose of the plants by burning them or burying them deeper than 50cm. And you should avoid growing the common Busy Lizzie, should you be able to find a supplier, in the same soil. Best let the soil rest to avoid a recurrence.
Thompson & Morgan (www.thompson-morgan.com) are one of the suppliers that have withdrawn it from their range this year. They say they will review the situation in 2013. Currently they are promoting another impatiens, the New Guinea Busy Lizzie ‘Divine’. I ordered some plugs of this to try out. I potted them up and they are growing strongly, so once the weather warms a little, I will begin hardening them off, ready to plant outside into containers and some into the ground. They are set to flower from June through to November, so that should make a splash of colour.
Other bedding alternatives include the New Guinea Busy Lizzie ‘Sunpatiens’ Mixed, which has really hot oranges and reds in its colour range; petunias, begonias and lobelias.
Photo: Young plants of New Guinea Busy Lizzie ‘Divine’ are robust and unlikely to succumb to the downy mildew that affected the common Busy Lizzie last summer.
Photos and text copypright Barbara Segall 2012
April 25, 2012
Now that I am full-steam ahead planting clematis and climbing roses to swarm up and along wires and posts around the paved area at the back of the garden, I have taken to have a bowl of cereal and fruit, weather permitting (and it hasn’t recently), as I sit on my living willow chair and survey my garden scene. It is a lovely warm spot, when it is sunny, as it gets the first sun in the garden all through the summer. But I have realised that one of the sightlines is towards my neighbour’s upstairs windows, and therefore, their sightline must be towards me on my willow chair.
That set me thinking about choosing a shrub that would grow fairly quickly to form a shapely barrier. I don’t want an evergreen, as I shall be sitting there mainly in summer, and an evergreen would cast too much shade. In any case, I spent money and time removing evergreen conifers and their stumps from the garden when I first moved here. They were the remnants of an all-enclosing conifer wall that once surrounded the garden.
A few weeks ago when I visited The Place for Plants (www.placeforplants.co.uk), a nursery and a garden in East Bergholt, Suffolk, I saw the tree that I think will fit the bill. This is the weeping pear, Pyrus salicifolia ‘Pendula’. I had a weeping pear in my previous garden, and it draped itself decoratively at the back of one of the borders.
So what is the attraction? Well it is known for its elegance and lightness and I think that is just what is needed. It has a rounded, mop-head and produces arching, weeping thin branches and willow-like leaves in silver-grey. In spring it has clusters of small white flowers that are followed by small fruits that are decorative, small but not edible pears. As it is deciduous its shade won’t be too heavy for the bulbs and spring flowers that are already establishing in the border that it is going to be planted into. It is described as a small tree, so I need to remember that is may grow up to 10 metres, but it is relatively slow-growing.
 |
 |
| Photo: The elegant silver-grey foliage on a weeping pear at The Place for Plants. |
Photo: White flowers in spring are carried over a long period. |
Another ornamental pear that might suit the situation is P. calleryana ‘Chanticleer’ which has a narrow, almost column-like upright shape. It produces dark green leaves that turn to a bright cockscomb red-orange in late winter.
Then there is the sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua. This also has pyramid-like, tapering shape and I have wanted to have one in every garden I’ve had but so far haven’t made the purchase. The sweet gum’s particular needs are full sun to light shade, so that its own blaze of bright autumnal foliage colour can be at its best.
We are in the midst of daily April showers, so it is good for planting, as all large plants need to be well watered when you plant them. I will need to water daily with the watering can if the showers stop, or I will water it with the drip-irrigation system from the water butt.
Photos and text copyright Barbara Segall 2012.
April 20, 2012
A friend’s daughter has just moved to a flat where she has her own first garden. And as it is in a city, there is a question of shade. Some parts of the garden are in shade from surrounding buildings for a good part of the day. So what can she plant for ground cover and to light up the shady corner of the garden? There are, of course, degrees of shade. Deep shade under evergreen trees is harder to grow plants in, but here there is an overall light aspect in the garden, but shade in this particular area for much of the day.
Mahonia aquifolium, the Oregon grape, is one of my favourite shrubs for a shady place. It has glossy holly-like, prickly foliage and carries a bouquet of fragrant yellow flowers at the heart of the leafy rosettes at the end of stems. The fragrance alone makes it a good choice and in an urban area its prickly foliage may be an intruder deterrent too.
At ground level I have particular favourites that will tolerate the shade, but will also lift the light levels up a notch or two. The perennial border plant Alchemilla mollis, Lady’s Mantle, scores well here. It grows to form mounds of soft velvety green pleated leaves, with citrine-yellow to green stems of small flowers that make a light frothy cloud above the foliage in spring through to autumn.
Ivy is a great standby even if you only use plain green, common ivy, Hedera helix. It can be used as ground cover as well as upwards to cover a wall. Its foliage is so glossy, that it will lighten a dark corner, but for extra light and colour there are so many variegated ivies to choose from. The wall on the north side of my garden, between house and next-door really has very little light, but it is covered by several ivies with different variegations – golden, creamy white and plain green. They need to be clipped back lightly a few times in the year, as they grow vigorously towards whatever light there is.
 |
 |
| Photo: A dark corner of the garden gets a light lift from ivy foliage. |
Photo: A golden-variegated ivy mixes it with common ivy, Hedera helix. |
 |
 |
| Photo: White-edged ivy clothes another part of a shady wall. |
Photo: A white-flowered Clematis montana provides a real colour uplift in spring on a north-facing wall. |
In a garden near me a white-flowered Clematis montana ‘Grandiflora’ spreads to form a wall of white from late spring through to early summer. Montana clematis are vigorous, so if you have the space in a shady site they will spread to cover a height of 10 metres and a spread of 13 metres.
For a spring border in shade there is a great deal to choose from. Snowdrops, primroses, Cyclamen hederifolium and epimediums are among my choices. I would interplant them with the turf lily, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’, which although it has dark black strap-like foliage, is glossy and a good foil for the white snowdrops and yellow primroses. Epimedium and bergenia are also useful in a shady site. Epimediums flower in spring, high above the plant, the foliage that follows is pretty as it unfolds and in autumn it has wonderful colour. Bergenias have glossy, highly coloured leaves in red and bronze to purple, that will give a good show in the shade. In spring they flower with white or pink blooms carried well above the foliage.
 |
 |
| Photo: Epimediums have small flowers carried on thin stems that appear to dance above the plant. The leaves that follow are attractive ground cover and provide good autumn colour too. |
Photo: Bergenia foliage is glossy and highly coloured. |
Then there are ferns that will thrive in shade, and among my favourite shade plants, hostas. These are available in so many variations of foliage colour, shape and texture. They are also very attractive to slugs. You will have to choose your own slug deterrent method, but there are several products that are not harmful to birds and other wildlife. Woodland plants such as foxgloves, variegated white foliage and white-flowered honesty, will brighten the borders.
There are two plants in particular that I would choose for year-round ornament. Euphorbia polychroma carries its bright yellow flowering stems for a long period in spring and although it will do better in full sun, it does well in partial shade. I would use this in the front of the border and to the back I would grow Choisya ternata, the Mexican orange blossom. It has glossy evergreen foliage and fragrant white flowers in spring. Although it is described as growing well in sun, I have grown it in deep shade and it has spread and flowered well.
Photo: Two of my particular choices for a shady but light situation in an urban garden are Euphorbia polychroma and Choisya ternata.
Photos and text copyright Barbara Segall 2012.
April 19, 2012
Suddenly it is all upward…in my small, flat garden. Someone has made the most wonderful metal poles for me and the first of them are in place around a non-descript paved area at the far end of the garden. This has been the site of a sea of grow-bags for my semi-commercial production of tomatoes in the past two seasons. Now, it has become a ‘sitting and possibly drinking station’. It is the place that gets the sun earliest and longest during the day and should be enjoyed as a place to get away from house and work. And it is where I have planted my living willow chair… that I so enjoy seeing and using.
The poles have gone in place on two of its edges – the back and one side will still be open, as they give onto flower borders to which I need easy access. Today we are looping in the wires that will run from pole to pole on three levels. So this is the moment I have been waiting for – I can buy and plant climbers that will become the ‘soft furnishing’ of my little outdoor sitting ‘room’.
 |
 |
| Photo: Metal poles, painted to match the Wild Thyme colour on fencing panels, have are in place around the paved area at the back of the garden. |
Photo: The stylish finials match other metal supports in the garden and once the wires are in place, the poles will become a support system for climbing plants. |
First purchase was a climber that I have seen performing so well at a garden nearby. It is Akebia quinata, a semi-evergreen with rounded foliage. It produces a mass of small purple to reddish flowers in April. It will grow in any soil and in sun or shade and should spread well along the wires and up the poles. The garden I have seen it looking so good in is Rosedales in Bures, Suffolk. This garden is open under the National Gardens Scheme on Saturday 20 May (www.ngs.org.uk).
 |
|
| Photo: Akebia quinata has small, fragrant red-purple flowers in early spring. |
|
Next up I went to Scotsdales Garden Centre near Cambridge (www.scotsdales.com) and bought two lovely clematis, Clematis macropetala ‘White Satin’ and C. alpina ‘Brunette’. ‘White Satin’ has bell-like double flowers that are a white with a sheen. The backs of the blooms have a green hue. ‘Brunette’ has one of the deepest dark purple flowers. They are going to be planted into a new border along the edge of the paving. When I plant I will add fertiliser to the planting hole. Its important to plant clematis deep, burying some of above ground growth – up to the second set of leaves. The reason is that should the plant succumb to clematis wilt or be damaged above ground, it has a good chance of regenerating from these buried stems.
‘White Satin’ and ‘Brunette’ belong to a group called Atragene. It’s a good idea to note this when you buy clematis because this determines when and how you prune them. These two clematis are in Group 1 and so will only need to be tidied after flowering.
 |
 |
| Photo: Clematis macropetala ‘White Satin’ flowers from April to May, so I am looking forward to enjoying it straightaway. |
Photo: C. alpina ‘Brunette’ has dark purple bell-like flowers in spring through to May. |
I went a little mad, making my first serious purchases of climbing plants, something that will not surprise those of you who read regularly of my inability to think small in my new garden. So also awaiting planting is C. ‘Rouge Cardinal’, classified as a late, large-flowered clematis, to be pruned hard in late winter to early spring. This group flowers on current season’s stem growth, so you need to prune hard to encourage this growth. ‘Daniel Deronda’ has purple to blue flowers with almost fading white markings, and is an early large flowered clematis, so needs just light pruning in winter, as they bloom on stems developed after flowering. ‘Guernsey Cream’ is also in the group, while another of my purchases, ‘Madame Julia Correvon’, is a vibrant red-flowered clematis in the Viticella group, that needs to be pruned hard in late winter to spring.
On my wish list is another spring-flowering clematis to furnish the ‘walls’ of my outdoor sitting room. This is ‘Rosie O’Grady’ which has bell-shaped, semi-double flowers in shades of pink.
Already growing in the garden, up metal obelisks are several clematis, including ‘Alionushka’, a soft dusky pink, planted last year and looking as if it is sending up lots of new stems, and ‘Arabella’, which has soft purple flowers.
There are some very good resources on the web for clematis including one with good images called Clematis on the Web (www.clematis.hull.ac.uk/index.cfm). For purchases online Thorncroft Clematis in Norfolk (www.thorncroftclematis.co.uk) has an excellent site. The doyen of clematis breeders, Raymond Evison’s website (www.guernsey-clematis.co.uk) is packed with information and images. Both will be at RHS Chelsea Flower Show 2012 in a few weeks, with their introductions for this season. And of course, if you get properly bitten by the clematis bug, you may wish to join the British Clematis Society (www.britishclematis.org.uk).
Images and text copyright Barbara Segall 2012
